Ceiling-switch.



Patented Nov. 27, I900.

E. A. LOWE.

CEILING SWITCH.

{Applivation filed June 4, 1900.;

(No Modal.)

witnesses;

UNlTED STATES PATENT UEETEE.

ERNEST A. LOWE, OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALFTO CHARLES W. LEVERIDGE, OE PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

CEILING-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 662,570, dated November27, 1900.

Application filed June 4, 1900. Serial No, 18,995. (No model.)

To all whom it may omwe n: tachment or suspension of the lamp orgroup Beit known that I, ERNEST A. LoWE, a citiof lamps to be controlled andsuspending a zen of the United States, and a resident of cord from theactuating portion of the switch North Plainfield, in the county of Unionand to within the reach of a person on the floor. 55 State of NewJersey, (with post-office address Such is the position for which theswitch form- No. 67 Fairview avenue,) haveinvented a cering the subjectof the present invention is intain new and useful Improvement inGeilingtended. Switches, of which the following is a specifi- In thedrawings an ordinary double-knife cation. switch is illustrated, itbeing mounted upon 60 The invention relates to electric switches, theblock a and consisting of the posts 5, to and in particular to thatclass of electric which the movable parts of the switch-to wit, switchesfor use on the ceiling in close proxthe knives 6are pivoted, and thefixed porimity to a light or other electrical fixture attions of theswitch-to wit, the posts 7with tached to or suspended from the ceiling.which the knives engage when the switch is 65 The principal object ofthe invention is to closed to complete the circuit or circuits 1construct a switch for this purpose in such a thereof. In the presentform of switch the manner that it can only stop in a completelyknives 6are shown as connected by a bar of opened or a completely-closedposition. insulation 8. Another object of the invention is to so con-The actuating mechanism of the switch con- 70 struct a switch that theoperation of the acsists of the knuckled joint formed by the tuatingmechanism thereof in a certain direc slotted link 9, the lever 10, andthe tripping tion will alternately close and open the switch, device 11.The slotted link 9 embraces the the organization being such that anyeffectual bar 8 and is joined thereto by means of one or operation ofthe switch can only be in the more spiral spings 12,whichare connectedto 75 right direction. the outer end of the link 9 and to suitableAnother object of the invention is the coneyes in the bar 8. The lever10 is hinged to struction of a switch having the functions the oppositeend of the link 9 and forms with and advantages above stated in a simpleand it the knuckle. Said lever is pivoted, as at economical manner. 13,to a post 14, attached to the base 4. This 80 With these objects in Viewthe invention lever is provided with divergent ways, which consists inthe formation, construction, and start from a point above and diverge toeither combination of parts hereinafter described side of the pivot 13.These ways may be and claimed. formed in any suitable manner, butprefer- In the accompanying drawings, which form ably consist of slots,as 15 16. The tripping 85 35. a part of this specification, Figure lrepredevice 11 is constructed to engage by a porsents in plan view ahinged switch embodytion thereof with said ways. ing the invention. Fig.2 represents the i In the construction illustrated a spool, as switch invertical transversesection, said sec- 17, is preferably pivoted upon thebody portion being taken in the plane indicated by the tion of thetripping device. The middle por- 9o line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 representsin side eletion of the spool engages the edges of the slots vation amodified form of switch embodying 15 16, while the flanges thereof keepsaid porthe invention in part. tion in such engagement. From thetripping It is now the common practice Where arcdevice, for theoperation thereof, is suspended lamps or banks of incandescent lamps areata suitable cord or wire, (indicated at 18,) and tached to or suspendedfrom high ceilings to to the upper end of the tripping device there leada pair of conductors across the ceiling is attached a spring, as 19,whose upper end and down the wall to a switch within reach is fixed tothe base of the switch, as bya pin of a person on the floor. Thisentails a con- 20. This spring returns and normally mainsiderableexpense and often disfigures the tains the spool 17 at the junction ofthe ways too room. This objection is overcome by placing 15 and 16, or,strictly speaking, a little to one the switch near the ceiling at thepoint of atside of said junction, so that a vertical pull on io againstthis arched portion.

65 its pivot 23.

the cord 18 will immediately cause the spool of the tripping device torun down that particular way favored by the position of said spool. Thisis determined by expanding the intersection of the ways and 16 in sub-15 projections with respect to the intersection of the ways 15 and 16assists in determining the position that the spool 17 of the trippingdevice shall take at this intersection.

In the drawings the switch is shown by full 20 lines in its open-circuitposition and is indicated in its closed-circuit position by brokenlines, while the spool 17 and the junction of the ways 15 and 16 arerepresented in dotted lines. It will be noted that in the opencircuitposition said spool automatically takes a position such that when thecord 18 is pulled the spool will run down the way 16-, and by tiltingthe lever 10 it moves the """"parts of the kn uckle-joint past thedead-ceno ter, whereupon the springs 12 will immediately bend the jointin the opposite direction and throw the knives into engagement with thejaws of posts 7 by a snap action.

With the switch in its closed position it will be noted that the spool17 is to the right of the intersection of the ways 15 and 16, so that avertical pull on the cord 18 will cause said spool to run down the way15 and trip the lever 10, so that the pivot at the knuckle 0 will passthe dead-center,when the springs 12 will immediately operate to throwthe switch open with a snap action. Should an inexperienced person or,in fact, any person pullthe cord 18 in a careless manner, so as to forcethe spool 17 into the wrong way, it can do no harm. The switch will notbe moved at all, and immediately when the spool is forced into right waythe switch will be operated to its full extent, it being impossible tostop itpartly open or partly closed, since before it can move at all ineither direction the pivot of the knuckle has passed the dead center andthe springs 12 will throw the switch wide open or completely shut. Thisapplication of the knuckle-joint to an electric switch is of greatimportance, since it obviatesany possibility of a switch stopping whenpartly open or partly closed, at which time it affords an opportunityfor arcing and either freezing the contact's together or destroying theswitch. The

application of the knuckle-joint in its simplest form is illustrated inFig. 3. Therein the lever 10 is a simple bar and to it a stiff' rod, as18, may be attached on either side of To close this switch, the rod 18is pulled down until the pivot of the knuckle passes the dead-center,when the springs 12 immediately throw the knives 6 into the jaws 7. Toopen the switch,an upward push of the rod 18Willcause the pivot of theknuckle to pass the dead-center in the opposite direction, whereupon thesprings 12 will immediately operate to throw the switch wide open.

Any suitable stop for the knives 6 may be employedsuch, for instance, asthose which would be formed by turning outwardly the pivoted ends ofsaid knives, as indicated at 24 in Figs. 1 and 3. A similar stop may beprovided on the end of the lever 10 in Fig. 3, as indicated at 25.

Obviously the movable part of any form of electric switch may beoperated by the mechanism above described, and obviously the formationand construction of the operating parts of the switch may be varied inways other than those specified without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an electric switch, the combination witha movable contact, of a leverprovided with a knuckle-joint connectionwith said contact, and means connected to said lever which when operatedin one direction will move said joint past its center and cause theswitch to close and which when operated again in the same direction will'move said joint past its center in a direction opposite to its firstmovement and thereby cause the switch to open.

2. In an electric switch, the combination with a movable contact, of aleverconnected thereto and provided with divergent ways, a knuckle-jointconnection between said contact and lover, an actuating device engagingsaid ways in a manner such that when moved in a certain direction itwill traverse one of said ways and actuate the lever to close theswitch, and when again operated in the same direction it will traversethe other one of said ways and actuate the lever to open the switch.

3. The combination with a movable contact in an electric switch, of aleverfor operating said contact, a spring-flexed knucklejoint connectingsaid contact and lever, a suspended tripping device for said lever, andmeans for guiding said device alternately to opposite sides of the pivotof said lever,whereby the lever is thrown successively in oppositedirections.

4. The combination with a movable con- IIO tact in an electric switch,of a pivoted lever ea svo tripping device having a spool there-on located in said slots, a spring suspension for said tripping device, astop for limiting the motion of said lever in either direction, and a knuckle-joint connection between said lever and the part to be moved.

Signed at New York, in the county of'NeW York and State of New York,this 19th day of May, A. D. 1900.

ERNEST A. LOWE; Witnesses:

DELBERT H. DECKER, ETHEL L. LAWLER.

